Clean Out, Organize & Add On!

I have been working on cleaning out unnecessary files, duplicates, and getting rid of some extra pictures, just keeping the proofs from files older than 2009. Then I worked on making sure everything was organized by year and backed up on two different external hard drives. I have a total of 5 externals. A lot of time consuming work! Over the last couple years I have gotten a lot more organized with my photo files but some of the older ones were pretty random!

After all of that clean out, I was still short on space! It was clear that I wouldn't be able to make it thru the year with what was available. After a bit of power seaching, I found a great deal on another external WD 2TB drive. This will definitely ease the space issues for the year, making it possible to unplug and store a couple of the older drives with older files.

High megapixel pictures are wonderful but they take a bunch of space!

Inspiration

This time of year in Iowa can be rather uninspiring....especially if you hate the cold as much as I do. I enjoyed reading this blog post and thought I'd pass it along. http://phototips.alexismiller.com/2010/03/finding-inspiration.html

Winter in Iowa

After a lot of beautiful, relatively warm days winter has arrived! Cold, snow and wind....Brrrr! Winter is definitely my least favorite time of year! I love to watch it snow, but I hate the cold.

I am making use of these cold, nasty days to catch up on bookkeeping and work on new programs for 2012. I have some new backgrounds and props already in. I am looking forward to an exciting year!

Beautiful Dresses

I took prom pictures on Saturday....so many beautiful dresses! I will post a sampling of some pictures, but it won't begin to show all the gorgeous dresses....and you have to love the camo!

On a Personal Note: Observations from dress shopping....

Problems I have trying to shop for a dress as mother of the groom.

• I am too tall...if the dress hits the model at the knees, it's more the mid thigh for me...not pretty!
• If the dress has a waist line, it becomes an empire waist for me...looks silly.
• If the dress comes in a color I am looking for, the style is inappropriate.
• I really don't like dresses all that much.
• I am not really a dressy person.
• I really like black....for many reasons!
• I hate "old lady" looking clothes and find that most dresses make me feel that way.
• There are very few dresses that come in talls and they look frumpy!
• It's hard to shop for a 90+ degree day outfit when it's in the 30's!

Maybe I should be a clothing designer....at least then I could design what I need to wear!

Graduation Open House Cards

It's that time of year again! These are a few examples of the cards I have made this year.

Computer Saga

My main photo editing/design computer wound up in the shop at HomeRun Computers for an entire week. I took it in on Monday morning and didn't get it back until 5:30pm Sunday. It had a couple minor problems (or so I thought!) and so I thought I just get some upgrading done while it was in the shop. Well, my small problems turned out to be unique issues that created havoc. While I got it back on Sunday night, my computer guy was not happy as he hadn't been able to restore all my data to preupgrade settings so he continued to try to figure out a way to make this happen. He finally came up with what he hoped was a solution, so I got the computer back to him last night (tues.) so he could work on it some more. Since I had gallbladder surgery today anyway, it just seemed like a good time to get the rest of the kinks worked out....hopefully he was able to accomplish that. Fingers and toes crossed that I will be able to have some of my family go pick it up tomorrow if it's ready since I they won't want me to drive just yet.

While I wasn't happy about having to have the gallbladder surgery done, it seemed to go fine and I was happy to have to do it now while my business is slower. It would have been much more difficult as we get into summer to take time off.

I got to be the first patient at our local hospital to have my gallbladder removed via a single small incision on the lower edge of my belly button. My belly button is not a pretty sight right now and there is some pain.....need to keep up with the pain pills so that doesn't get bad. I went a little too long tonight so once things get settled down, I am off too bed...hopefully for a good nights sleep!

After this week, I hope to have everything back to normal in the office! I have grad cards and slideshows to work on, as well as photo editing and orders. Also, I have home shows and bridal shows coming up. The first one is a home show in Montezuma on March 15. Hope to see you there that evening!

I still have some available times for my "Limited Easter Kids Session" with live chicks on Saturday, April 9. This will be a lot of fun for the kids and a fun way to get some special Easter pictures this year. Call to reserve your time at 641-891-6779.